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PASTORAL RESOURCES AND DAIRY
INDUSTRY.

NOTWITHSTANDING the fact that the soil, climate, and indi

genous herbage of Australasia are admirably adapted to the sustenance of animal life, no attempt was made to test the capabilities of the land as a feeding-ground for flocks and herds on a large scale until the example of Captain Macarthur had demonstrated beyond doubt that Nature favoured the production in Australasia of a quality of wool which was unsurpassed by that grown in any part of the world. Then the settlers began to understand and utilise the natural resources of the country; and as the indomitable spirit of exploration gradually opened up the apparently boundless plains of the interior, pastoralists extended their domain, and sheep and cattle in increasing numbers spread over the face of eastern Australia. At the present time the pastoral industry has attained such dimensions that its products constitute the chief element in the wealth of Australia. Since 1851 the export of wool from Australia has reached the enormous sum of £610,000,000 sterling, or over £230,000,000 in excess of the value of the gold produced during the same period. More extended reference to the value of production from the pastoral industry will be found in succeeding pages. The beginnings of pastoral enterprise in Australia were very humble. The live stock of the community which accompanied Captain Phillip comprised only 1 bull, 4 cows, 1 calf, 1 stallion, 3 mares, 3 foals, 29 sheep, 12 pigs, and a few goats; and although the whole of the present flocks and herds of Australasia have not sprung from these animals alone, yet the figures show the small scale on which the business of stock-raising was first attempted. No systematic record of the arrival of stock seems to have been kept in the early days of settlement; but it would appear that during the period between Governor Phillip's landing and the year 1800 there were some slight importations, chiefly of sheep from India. In 1800 the stock in Australasia comprised 6,124 sheep, 1,044 cattle, 203 horses, and 4,017 swine; while at the end of the year 1901, there were no less than 92,358,824 sheep, 9,827,433 cattle, 1,905,172 horses, and 1,171,381 swine.

The following figures give the number of stock in Australasia at various dates up to 1851 :

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The increase in the number of each kind of live stock since the year 1861 is illustrated in the following table :—

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The average number of sheep, cattle, horses, and swine per head of the population of Australasia at the same periods was as follows:

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It will be seen that in 1861 there were 18-8 sheep for every person in Australasia, and that this number had increased to 318 in 1891. In consequence of the continued dry seasons, and the demands made upon the flocks for the export trade, the average for 1903 has fallen to 15.3 per inhabitant. The average number of cattle depastured during last year per inhabitant was 18, as against 3-2 forty-two years ago. The breeding of horses and swine has about kept pace with the population.

SHEEP.

The suitableness for pastoral pursuits of the land discovered in the early days was undoubtedly the means of inducing the infant colony of New South Wales to take its first step on the path of commercial progress, and, looking backward, it is not a little surprising to find how steadily some of the settlers, in the face of the almost insurmountable difficulty of transport which existed a century ago, availed themselves of the opportunities at their disposal. The importation of valuable specimens of sheep from England or the Cape of Good Hope prior to the introduction of steam was at all times attended with great risk, and it frequently happened that many of these costly animals died during the tedious voyage. These enterprises were, however, on the whole successful, and thus the flocks and herds of the colonists surely, if at first slowly, increased and multiplied.

By the year 1795, Captain Macarthur, one of the first promoters of sheep-breeding in New South Wales, had accumulated a flock of 1,000 sheep, which were held in great estimation, and gradually increased in value until, as recorded by an entry in his journal ten years later, the market price of a fat wether had risen to £5. Not satisfied with the natural increase of his flocks, Macarthur sought to improve the quality of his fleeces, by which means he could see opening before him the promise of great wealth and the prospect of establishing important commercial relations with Great Britain. With these ends in view, he procured from the Cape of Good Hope, at great cost and trouble, a number of superior rams and ewes. A happy circumstance favoured his enterprise; for he had the good fortune to secure three rams and five ewes of very fine Spanish breed, which had been presented by the King of Spain to the Dutch Government. These animals, out of a total of twenty-nine purchased at the Cape, arrived in Sydney in 1797, and were disposed of to various breeders. With the exception of Macarthur, however, those who had secured sheep of the superior breed made no attempt to follow up this advantage, being probably amply satisfied with the larger gains from the sale of an increased number of animals. Macarthur, on the other hand, thought little of present profits, and still less of breeding entirely for human consumption. He attentively watched the results of crossing his imported rams with the old stock, and by systematically selecting the finer ewes which were the offspring, for further mingling with the sires, he gradually improved the

strain, and in a few years obtained fleeces of very fine texture which met with the ready appreciation of English manufacturers. It has been asserted that Macarthur was not the first to introduce merino sheep into Australia; but whether this be so or not, there is no doubt that to him is due the credit of having been the first to prove that the production of fine wool could be made a profitable industry in New South Wales.

Prior to the present century the production of the finest wool had been confined chiefly to Spain, and woollen manufactures were necessarily carried on in England upon a somewhat limited scale, which was not likely to improve in face of certain restrictions which the operatives endeavoured to place upon their employers. These men, in support of their contention that the woollen trade could not be expanded on account of the limited supply of raw material, argued that fine wool was obtainable only in Spain; and it was at this favourable period that Macarthur arrived in England with specimens of the wool obtained from his finest sheep, conclusively proving the capabilities of Australia as a wool-producing country. In this way he opened up with English manufacturers a small trade which, as Australasian wool rose in public estimation, gradually increased until it reached its present enormous dimensions. During his visit to England, Macarthur purchased an additional stock of ten rams and ewes of the noted Spanish breed, nearly equal in quality to those which in 1797 he had procured from the Cape of Good Hope. That these animals were the finest obtainable in Europe may be gathered from the fact that they also had formed portion of a present from the King of Spain to George III. After his return to New South Wales, Macarthur patiently continued for many years the process of selection, with such success that in 1858, when his flock was finally dispersed, it was estimated that his superior ewes numbered fully 1,000. Victoria secured a considerable portion of his flock, and the process of breeding proceeded simultaneously in that and other adjacent states.

Although the increase in the numbers of the finer sheep was satisfactory, yet the importation of superior stock was not discontinued, and the stock of the states was augmented in 1823 and 1825 by the further introduction of Spanish sheep. Sheep-breeding was about this period commenced in the Mudgee district of New South Wales; the climate of that region had a more favourable effect upon the quality of the fleeces than that of any other part of the state, and it was thence that the finest merinos were for a long time procured. As was to be expected, the climate has in some respects changed the character of the Spanish fleece. The wool has become softer and more elastic, and while it has diminished in density it has increased in length, and the weight of the fleece has considerably increased. Thus, on the whole, the quality of the wool has improved under the beneficial influence of the climate, and if no further enhancement of its intrinsic value can be reasonably hoped for, there is at least every reason to believe that Australasian wool will maintain its present high standard of excellence.

The following table shows the number of sheep in each state at intervals of ten years since 1871 :

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Commonwealth. 40,072,955 65,078,341 106,421,168 72,125,725 New Zealand.... 9,700,629 12,985,085 18,570,752 20,233,099

55,371,220

18,280,806

73,652,026

Australasia....... 49,773,584 78,063,426 124,991,920 92,358,824

* Estimate.

In all the states the number of sheep depastured had prior to 1903 largely increased during the period shown above with the exception of Tasmania. In that state, however, more attention is directed towards the breeding of stud sheep than to raising immense flocks, and the stud farms of the island have gained considerable distinction, and are annually drawn upon to improve the breed of sheep in the other states.

In South Australia the area adapted to sheep is limited, and no great expansion in sheep-farming can be looked for. As regards Victoria, the important strides made in agriculture and kindred pursuits afford sufficient explanation of the diminished attention paid to sheep farming. The statement given below shows, for 1903, the proportion of sheep in each state to the total flocks of Australasia, the Victorian figures being an approximation in the absence of official returns. New South Wales, with 38.9 per cent. of the total flock, comes first, and New Zealand, with 24.8 per cent., second, while Victoria, with 11.9 per cent., and Queensland, with 114 per cent., are next in order. The other three states together possess only 13 per cent. of the whole.

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In order to show the increase or decrease in sheep during the last nineteen years, the following table has been prepared, giving the numbers in the various states at the end of each year since 1885. It will be

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